


Intentions

by dementorsatemysoup



Category: Psych (TV 2006)
Genre: Awkward Dates, Gus Has A Taser, Henry Tries, M/M, Shawn Isn't Allowed To Play GTA, Shovel Talk, Some Fluff, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:35:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23729164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dementorsatemysoup/pseuds/dementorsatemysoup
Summary: Henry gives Carlton a shovel talk... sorta
Relationships: Carlton Lassiter/Shawn Spencer
Comments: 5
Kudos: 200





	Intentions

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure how to tag this... hmmm.
> 
> Anyway, this is sort of a companion piece to Is It Wrong (If I Think It's Lame To Dance). You don't have to read it, but you can if you'd like.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this, thank you for reading, and leave me a comment if you can :)

Their first date doesn’t go as planned. Carlton made the reservations, wore a nice shirt, even tried to style his hair so Spencer would shut up about it, but they ended up missing their reservations and making out in the backseat of his car. They only stopped when a pair of headlights shined into Carlton’s front windshield and they left before someone called the cops.

Their second date was interrupted by a call from Chief Vick, asking Carlton to meet O’Hara and a few uniforms at a crime scene downtown. He had tried to keep Spencer away from the case, more out of habit than anything, but he had been adamant about going with him and they received a few curious looks from O’Hara when they arrived together.

Their third date ended when Guster showed up suddenly, completely oblivious to what was going on, and took a seat at the table next to Shawn. The whole night they kept having these weird, silent conversations that Carlton couldn’t interpret even if he tried. If Guster ever actually caught on Carlton didn’t know.

Tonight was their fourth date, and Henry Spencer was sitting outside Carlton’s house. This was going to end swimmingly.

He jogged across his lawn, leaning into Henry’s truck through the open window. “Henry? It’s nice to see you.”

“Get in Carlton,” Henry said in lieu of a greeting, staring straight ahead, one hand on the wheel while the other rested against his open window.

“I kind of had…”

“This won’t take long.”

Carlton sighed, looking back at his car, and opened the truck door. He got in, reaching for his seat belt, but Henry shook his head.

“We’re not leaving,” he said turning in his seat to look at Carlton. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

Taken aback, Carlton said, “I’m not sure…”

“Look, my son’s dating history isn’t my favorite topic to think about, and don’t even get me started on the fact that he somehow managed to convince  _ you _ of all people to join that list of crackpots…”

“Hey…” He and Spencer haven’t even talked about their dating history yet, there was no way Carton was going to do it with his father.

“Believe me, compared to  _ some _ of his exes you’re practically normal, but I’ve fished with you. I know you’re far from normal,” Henry muttered shaking his head.

“That’s…” Carlton fought the urge to scoff. “Listen, does this little shovel talk have a purpose or can I go?”

“The  _ purpose,” _ Henry stressed meeting Carlton’s gaze, “is that if you so much as break his heart…”

“Careful, Henry, I’m a Detective.”

Henry gave him a tolerant smile and said, “It’s taken Shawn and me four years to find common ground. He hasn’t stayed in one place for this long since he was 18, and honestly I like being able to keep an eye on him.”

“Are you saying Spencer…?” Carlton trailed off, correcting himself, “Shawn is a flight risk?”

“I’m saying, if you plan to break up with him do it in a way where he’s not going to leave town.” Henry’s face softened for a second when he added, “And if he breaks up with you, don’t take it too personally. God knows he’s had trouble committing in the past.”

Carlton stared at Henry for a long moment before saying, “You realize you raised him, right?”

Henry sighed, his shoulders sagging in defeat. “Don’t remind me.” He leaned over Carlton, opening the door, and said, “Shovel talk over. Have fun tonight.”

“Do you think he’s going to break it off?” Carlton asked, staying in his seat, a sudden numbness settling over him.

Henry shrugged. “I don’t know, Carlton. The longest relationship he’s ever had was with Gus, and sometimes I wonder if his dependency on Gus is the  _ only _ reason they’ve stayed friends this long.” He met Carlton’s gaze again. “Word of advice, don’t pressure him into anything. If he sets his mind to something, it'll take heaven and earth to get him to change it, but he's also someone who leaves at the slightest sign of conflict. He _has_ gotten better, so you have that going for you, but who knows how much.

"What I do know is he likes to think he’ll never grow up, but I’ve known the kid 30 years and he’s slowly starting to change for the better. He’s taken on more responsibility, he’s trying, and hell I might not like this Psych crap but at least he’s kept this job longer than 3 months. He’s actually growing up, and who knows maybe you’ll be good for him, but don't expect too much out of him too soon."

“Right.” Where had he heard  _ that _ before? “Right.” He blew out a frustrated breath, shaking his head. “How the hell do you know what we’re doing anyway?”

“Please. Whose headlights do you think caught you a few weeks ago?” Henry nodded towards Carlton's car. “I know Shawn won’t notice if you’re late, but I’m sure you’d like to avoid missing the 8:15 showing.”

“How?” Carlton rolled his eyes when Henry did a poor imitation of Spencer’s "psychic" thing. “Nevermind.”

He got out of Henry’s truck and shut the door. He leaned into the truck window and said, “If it’s any consolation I  _ like _ your son.” When Henry drew back with a raised eyebrow, Carlton added, "I know, it surprised me, too."

“Why?”

“I don't know. He makes me want to loosen up, I guess.” Carlton rocked back on his heels, burying his hands in his pockets. “Maybe he deserves more credit than what you give him sometimes.”

“Maybe.” Henry started his truck, nodding at Carlton, and pulled out of his parking spot. Carlton waited until he saw tail lights before heading towards his car.

* * *

The drive to the Psych Office gave Carlton time to think. He and Spencer hadn’t discussed what they were, yet, and honestly until Henry’s little talk Carlton didn’t even think about it. Now he wondered what  _ were _ they?

Boyfriends? He made a face.

Lovers? He made another face, shaking his head.

Friends with benefits? He snorted. Him and Spencer weren’t what anyone would call  _ friends _ .

Carlton heaved a defeated sigh, rubbing his temple with his free hand. This was not a discussion he wanted to have now or ever, and he wondered how long they could put if off before they were forced to have it.

He pulled up to the Psych Office, parking right outside, and shut his car off. He didn’t get out right away, staring at Guster and Spencer through the plate glass window. They were playing some stupid video game, fighting over the controller, and Carlton rolled his eyes.

What exactly did he see in Spencer? And what exactly did Spencer see in him? They were two sides of two completely different coins. Maybe this relationship or whatever was destined to crash and burn. He watched Spencer stick his finger in his mouth and shove it into Guster's ear. The look of disgust he received making Carlton snort

It most definitely was.

Carlton finally got out of his car, pocketing his keys, and headed towards the door. His hand had just touched the doorknob when he heard the scream. He rushed inside, wondering if these two idiots managed to somehow kill each other, but froze in the entryway when he saw Guster standing over a twitching Spencer holding a taser.

“What in the sweet hell are you two doing?” he demanded putting his hands on his hips.

“He’s lost his damn mind,” Guster shouted, gesturing to Spencer.

“I have not,” Spencer whined, fighting to sit up. “When did you get a taser?”

“Ebay Shawn, and that’s not the point. You’re never playing GTA again.” Guster stalked towards the Playstation, hitting eject, and took the game with him as he stalked out of the office. As he past Carlton he said, “Do you need me to leave you the taser?”

Carlton shook his head. “I’m good.”

“Okay.”

“Do you have a permanent for that?” Carlton called over his shoulder and Guster hurried out of the office.

Carlton shook his head and moved across the room to Spencer’s side. He helped him sit up, keeping his hands on his shoulders to steady him, and asked, “You alright?”

“I think so,” Spencer replied, his twitching becoming less pronounced. He met Carlton’s gaze and beamed. “You’re early!”

“Am not,” Carlton grumbled, shaking his head.

“Are too. And you did your hair.” He stumbled to his feet, reaching out to fix Carlton’s hair. “Well, you tried.”

“Stop it,” Carlton grumbled with no heat behind his words, stepping back out of his reach. He looked around the pigsty Guster and Spencer called an office and said, “You ever heard of cleaning up?”

“Lassie, if that’s your idea of dirty talk it’s terrible.” Spencer waved a dismissive hand around the place and said, “It looks comfortable.”

“It looks unprofessional,” Carlton muttered wrinkling his nose at the dirty plates in the sink and half eaten cookies scattered across the counter.

“You weren’t complaining three days ago when we were…” Spencer trailed off, his eyes widening. “Oh my god, you talked to my dad!”

Flustered, Carlton took another step back. “What? No I…”   


“Yeah, you did.” Spencer moved with him, his expression hard to read. “What did he say? Did he ask you to break up with me? Did he offer you money? How much money? Is it enough to pay an army of children to egg his house?”

“Spencer, Shawn…” Carlton reached out, halting his little rant by grabbing him by the upper arms, and met his gaze. “He pretty much gave me the shovel talk.”

“Oh my god!” Shawn shook Carlton’s hands off of him and stalked across the room towards his desk.

“What are you doing?” Carlton asked, watching him warily.

“I’m gonna call my dad and tell him to mind his business.”

Carlton hurried across the room, grabbing for the phone, but he slipped on a pile of Pokemon cards. He grabbed the corner of the desk, steadying himself, and tried to reach for Spencer but he danced out of his way.

He chased Spencer around the office, trying to get that damn phone away from him, finally succeeding in tackling him onto the couch. He pressed his whole body into his, reaching for the phone, finally hitting “End Call” just as Henry picked up.

“Lassie!”

“Listen to me.” Lassiter pushed himself up enough so he could meet Spencer’s gaze. “We’re not going to think about your dad tonight, okay? I’ve been trying to take you on a date for the past three weeks and right now all I want to do is go see this stupid movie you wanted to see-that we probably won’t actually watch-and maybe take you to dinner afterward. Okay?”

Spencer hesitated for a moment before he nodded, dropping his phone to the floor. It began ringing but he ignored it, pushing himself up to press his nose to Carlton’s, and he whispered, “Alternative plan, we stay here, I put on some other dumb movie we’ve both seen, and we make out on the couch.”

Carlton thought the plan over, smelling the pineapple-mango candy on Spencer’s breath, and sighed. “Fine, but we’re ordering pizza.”

“Sweet,” Spencer said, pressing a quick kiss to Carlton’s lips. “Have you ever had pineapple on your pizza?”

Carlton made a face and rolled off of Spencer, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. As he dialed, he looked down at Spencer, propped up on his elbows, a dopey smile on his dumb face, and Carlton almost asked him right there what they were to each other.

Instead he sighed and said, “Half can have pineapple.”

Spencer pumped his fist. “Yes.”

They’ll have the talk sooner or later.


End file.
